Leo POV.Walking through the packhouse after what happened last night. I’m numb and I know my mates are, too. Same as her family and the pack. This is on us. I remember what Selene told us, but I was too wrapped up in Morgana. I forgot. I failed my mate, and she died. But what I don’t understand is how? Calista and I both marked her. She should have been fine.I find myself standing outside her bedroom. I open the door and there she is laying on her bed. She looks asleep, but I know different. They have dressed her in a white knee-length sundress. Her hair has been braided and is adorned with flowers. My eyes blur with tears as I look at her face. I reach out to touch her but stop myself. I don’t deserve her. I hear movement behind me but don’t respond to it.“She loved you, you know?” I turn and see her little sister, Sofia. She is so much like Gaia only difference is her hair is dark like Mia’s.“She didn’t deserve any of this.” I whisper as I look at Gaia. Sofia moves closer to the
Jake POV.Seeing all the wolves here, I’ve never felt so out of place as I do right now. Walking away from everyone, I walk towards the lake and sit on the dock. Looking out over the glittering waters, I dangle my feet over the edge.I feel a presence behind me and I don’t bother turning around. I don’t care who it is or what they want. The day she died, a part of me died with her. I know my mates feel the same way and we are dealing with it in our own way.“Mind if I sit down?” I turn and see Asteria. I smile at her as she sits next to me, dangling her bare feet into the water.“Want to talk about it?” she nudges me with her shoulder. I look back out over the water.“Drowning is not the way out of it. Your mates need you, and so does her family.” I turn and look at her and she smiles at me.“They don’t need me. We did this Asteria. We deserve death for this.” I mumble when she sighs.“You can’t change what happened. She never blamed any of you. She knew it was Morgana’s doing. Don’t
Gabe POV.The time has come to lay Gaia to rest. I did this; I killed her. Morgana was in my head, telling me to stab her, to kill the imposter. I was under her spell and I didn’t know what I did until it was too late when I felt the bond break and her death. It shook me to my core, and it still does.The look on her face, wide eyes as I plunged that dagger into her heart. Before she fell, she smiled at me. Smiled at her mate, who killed her. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.Jake holds my hand as we watch as Fenrir carries Gaia through the packgrounds towards the crypt. He stops in front of us. He nods his head. Drums sound as the bonfire cracks behind us. Leo kisses her on her forehead, Calista kisses her lips, Jake kisses her nose and I look down at her. I bite my bottom lip as I stroke her cheek and kiss her hard on the lips as tears slip down my cheek. Placing my forehead on hers, I whisper.“I’m sorry, my love, I love you.” I move back, looking up at Fenrir, who has tears in his
Calista POV.We have been training for the past few days. Fenrir’s methods have improved, but he is still brutal. Pair that with both Theo and Titus. Goddess, just kill me. They are all ruthless and lethal. As night descends, we are all eating and laughing around the tables in the dining room. Moral is high even though we face certain death.My mates are finally starting to be in good spirits. The training we have gone through has helped us turn our grief in to power and we have become stronger even if rage, anger, hurt, and betrayal fuels it.Looking around the room, I wished Gaia was here. Her smile lit up every room, even her evil grin always held a promise of what was to come. I miss her so much. My chest aches whenever I think about her, but I know she is in a better place. We need to finish this for her.The local Alpha’s have all arrived with their best warriors and that was Dahlia’s doing. She arranged so much to win this fight, and without her and her connections, we would be
Gaia POV.“Why isn’t she waking up yet?” I wince at the voice and I feel like I’m floating.“She will be awake soon and when she does, she will be ready.” I blink as I open my eyes and instantly close them again. Groaning, I open my eyes again and focus. Where the fuck am I? What happened?“Easy Gaia, you are with me and Lycaon. Can you sit up?” I pull myself up, but everything aches like I’ve slept funny.“What happened? Why am I here?” I ask, looking at Selene. She sits next to me on the bed.“What do you remember?” she asks me and I blink, racking my brain for what I remember.“I remember blood, so much blood and pain. Like I was being torn apart from the inside. Then something leaving me, my power. Then death.” I say, my voice shaking as I gasp for air, knowing I’m dead. My mate killed me.I start to hyperventilate as my surroundings spin and I feel dizzy.“Breathe sweetie, breathe. You are here.” I look in her eyes and mimic her breathing, and I start to settle down. A hear a gro
Gaia POV.I watch as my army slaughter Morgana’s followers. I smirk at the carnage, the screams, and the coppery tinge of blood calls to me. My red eyes locked on Morgana as she pulls at her hair in frustration.I see Calista as he pulls himself up. She turns and grabs him. I jump down off the rubble and charge forward, letting Kodiak push us forward.Cutting her followers down as I move. The sword in my hand dripping with blood. A loud roar comes from behind Morgana as the trees shake as birds shriek and fly away. I watch as a hydra steps out and my eyes widen as I come skidding to a stop.“Oh, shit!” Kodiak says. Oh, shit indeed. How the fuck did she get one of those? They are meant to be in the underworld. I look closer and see it has collars on it’s three necks. It is only young.Even being young, it is huge. Towering over the trees. There is only one thing to do. I look around. I need to find him. I spot him chomping down on someone. Shaking his head violently as the person is spl
Gaia POV.Loud voices rouse me from my sleep. I lay in my bed, looking at the ceiling as the voices become more prominent. Groaning, I sit up when an arm tightens around me. Looking down, I smile as I snuggle back down, hugging my little sister.“Who is shouting?” She mumbles, and I stroke her hair from her face. Her eyes snap open as her lip quivers as she blinks, tears rolling down her face.“Gaia,” she launches herself at me as she sobs, my heartbreaks to see her like this.“It’s ok, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Shhh baby I’m here.” I hold her tighter as she sobs into my shoulder.“You died, Gaia, then you came back. I lost you Gaia, you are my big sister and best friend. You left me and went somewhere I couldn’t follow.” I choke on my sob as the voices get louder.“You meddling bitch. How could you do this?” That’s Asteria. What the hell is going on?“What? It wasn’t my fault. I tried to undo it but I couldn’t. Your father even tried.” Selene shouts back and I sit up, listeni
Gaia POV.Following Gabe’s scent, I follow it through the forest. My heart beats wildly in my chest. I hope he doesn’t do anything silly. Bursting through the treeline into the clearing next to the dark lake. I see him; he is on his knees by the water’s edge. I breathe in relief.It’s beautiful today. The dark lake looks black under the sun’s rays. Walking closer, I can smell the salt from his tears and hear his whimpers. I approach him cautiously. A wolf in this state can be dangerous. I Know he is hurting because of guilt, but I know it’s not his fault.“Gabe,” I call softly as I place my hand on his shoulder and he jumps with a gasp. He slowly turns to look at me over his shoulder. The tears fall from his eyes as he moves away from me, and I have to admit that hurts.“Gabe, you did nothing wrong. I don’t blame you.” He shakes his head as he turns and looks out over the lake. I move to sit beside him. I watch him, placing my hand on his thigh as I wait patiently for him to calm down
Epilogue 1.Rosa POV.Today I leave for the settlement at Moonlight Cove. I don’t want to go. The reason being that Charlie has been awful to me the last few times I have been there; I don’t understand why he is being a total twat.“Rosa, baby. Come on.” My mom Gaia shouts at me from the living room and I groan as I walk like a lost puppy down the stairs. My parents know I don’t want to go, but this is what I have been trained for since I was five years old. It sucks ass being the next Oracle, especially a wolf one. I haven’t told them why I don’t want to go.“Stop grumbling. It will be fun.” My wolf Cece says in my head and I scoff at her. We shifted a few days ago, and she hasn’t shut up since.The shift was painful and I won’t be doing it again anytime soon, that’s for damn sure. We managed to hold off me going to settlement when I was 16, but now I’m 18 and I have to go. Maybe I can run away and they won’t find me?“Don’t even think about it, young lady.” I turn and see my dad Cal
Gaia POV.It has been a few weeks since the not funeral. Everything has settled down and there has been nothing bad happening so far. For that, I can only hold my breath because there will always be trouble waiting around the corner to cause damage and chaos.Rosa has been doing her lesson every Saturday and has been spending time with Charlie. They are so funny together, her with her mischievous ways and him with his nonchalance. He isn’t easily riled, which is a good thing, because we all know how Rosa can get under your skin and it takes a lot of patience with her.The first time she came back from her training. Dragus scooped her up and sniffed her and was asking who had been around her and I told him it was the people from the settlement it is safe to say the following week he tagged along and yes you guessed it, he found his second chance mate. it was no other than Odessa.He is happy and so is she, but at first she ran away because she was worried that he would reject her, espe
Gaia POV.The day has come that we lay Britany to rest. It has been a few days and things are calm for a change. But I know it’s because the pack is mourning the loss of their Luna and after today they will lose their Alpha.I am walking through the packhouse in a black dress and my hair is down, minimal makeup is on my face and I have my black sunglasses. I haven’t been sleeping much as I know things are going to change rapidly when Nic leaves us to go in search of himself. It’s the same thing dad done, but he was searching for his mates.I hope Nic returns to us better than before. All we can do is keep a close eye on him. He had locked himself away from everyone and refused to eat or see anyone, so all we can do is watch from afar.The pack is sombre and some look at Nic with disdain as we walk towards the family crypt. I hold his hand and give it a squeeze. But he keeps his head down and I want to take his pain away, but I can’t. He needs to do this.We stop in front of Selene, wh
Gaia POV.Walking on pack grounds. The place is in turmoil as the warriors are in battle formation and I sigh, rubbing my forehead.“What is going on?” I say to my dad and he shrugs his shoulders as we walk closer to them.“Ok, can someone explain what the fuck is going on?” I shout and they all turn to look at me as my mates and family come running towards us.“Oh, thank the Gods you are safe, what happened?” My mom throws her arms around me and I explain everything and she looks at me in shock before she looks at my dad and he has a pout on his lips. Yeah, I get that from him.“Please tell me you didn’t do that?” she asks him and he just shrugs his shoulders when mom groans and rubs her temples.“God dammit, Fen, you can tell where she gets it from.” I move away slowly, not wanting to be scolded by her. If you didn’t know this, but my mom is fucking scary when she is mad. So yeah, dad is on his own.“Traitor.” I hear him mumble through the link. My eyes widen. Wait, I can link.“Kod
Gaia POV.“No, that’s not possible. No power can unlock that gate without the Guardian.” I say to him when he shakes his head with a chuckle.“That’s where you are wrong. You are or sorry, were the Goddess of Hell your authority overrules that of the Guardian. You willingly gave your power to the monsters. They are growing stronger and it will only be a matter of time before they break the Gate of Purgatory. Releasing the damned back into the world. Do you see what you have done? Gaia, you have caused destruction. All because you couldn’t contain your power.” I look at him in shock. I shake my head. Gods, he is stupid.“No, it was Xena’s power and the damn curse she put on me that has caused this. I tried to fight it and I failed. I wanted to get rid of it. Xena’s soul is feeding the Gate, so is her power, it also feeds it. My darkness, as you know, had been taken over by her power. If I didn’t do what I did, I would have destroyed everything. You know this, with my power, Zeus, I am
Gaia POV.The feeling of something silky against my back and the sun beaming on my face wakes me from a dreamless sleep. Squinting as I open my eyes. I cover my eyes with my forearm as everything is bright. Too damn bright.The sound of birds, running water and soft music fills me. I remove my forearm and see I am laying on a shimmering silk cushion. I look down and see I’m wearing a long, flowing white gown. My wrists, ankles, and neck have gold cuffs and I take in the room.The room is spotless, all white with gold touches to it. The floor is marble white tiles with the same gold swirling through it. I look towards the window and it’s not a window. It’s completely open, with long sheer white voile curtains blowing delicately in the breeze.I pull myself up and walk towards them, and I gasp in surprise.I’m in a paradise. The grass is green and lush, palm trees, animals big and small roam around living peacefully. Predator and prey living side by side. The sky is a mix of blues and l
Jake POV.We all watch on in horror as these shadows fed on Gaia. The room is icy cold and we can see our breaths. With each bite or suck from these shadows, you can see the power being pulled from her. It’s dark misty stuff, then it starts changing colour and becomes red.No-one moves or speaks as we all stand there watching as she opens her mouth, her back arches up and a silent scream tears out of her, tears stream down her face.When her back hits the ground and the shadows slither away with a purr like hiss. Fen runs to her and we follow behind.Nothing is making sense with what has just happened. Then she revokes her power and title. That is when it hits us. It was her power, her darkness, that those things were feeding on. They were taking it away from her.“Will she be ok?” I whisper as I touch her cold, clammy skin with a shaking hand.“I don’t know. You saw what she did. She is no longer the Goddess and her power is gone.” Fen slumps on the floor, cradling Gaia to his chest.
Gaia POV.I watch on in horror as I try to fight back. This isn’t my magic, this is … the curse. Fuck!I try to fight back as I advance forward and grab my father and fling him away as I move to Nic.“STOP, STOP, STOP!” I scream, but I keep moving forward as I try to pull myself back.My hand moves and grabs Nic by his throat, and his eyes fly open as my claws extend. No, no, no, no!“You’re … not … my sister! Are … you?” I try to pull my claws back, but I can’t.“No. I’m not.” As I fight the power, my hand tightens when I’m knocked away from Nic, and I keep fighting. When I turn and see my dad in his beast form as he growls at me.Oh fuck! This is going to hurt. I try again to open the mind link, but I can’t. I can’t stop myself. All I can do is watch on in absolute horror.“Whatever you are, stop!” I scream again when a cold laugh sounds in my head.“No, you know you want this, Gaia. Give in, all your life you have been shunned by them when you should have been loved. They hate you,
TRIGGER WARNING, PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!Leo POV.We all watch in horror at what Gaia has just said. What the fuck is going on?“The first time she felt your betrayal, she caught you in your bed with three whores, yes?” I watch as she balls her fists to her sides and I can feel the anger, sadness, and need for revenge build in her.“ANSWER ME!” she screams and I see a few jump at her tone. She is filled with hate and will hurt him.“Yes,” she growls at him, and so does Sofia. I look between them both and move closer to her when Calista stops me and shakes his head and I can’t read his expression. He is cold.“Do you remember when she collapsed? When she fucking passed out clutching her belly.” I take a breath at her words when the temperature in the room plummets and I know she is pissed.“She was pregnant with your pup. Your pain of betrayal caused her to miscarry in the fucking shower of your room. Then because of that, when you continued and then started beating her, th